Severed from Fate
Part 1: The Impossible (AD-1176) ~Library of Lunar Solace, The Seventh Day (AD-1200)~ Sirius Sirius stumbled about the library. He blinked several times. The library of lunar solace? He shouldn’t have been able to actually have his spirit walk these halls, it made no practical sense. “Well hello there.” Bernard Kotaro stood before Sirius, his young Zora smirk plastering his face. “I’m sure you’re wondering, how am I in here? Well don’t bother trying to find out, I already looked and there’s nothing.” Sirius scratched his head. “I’m dreaming aren’t I?” He asked, unable to ascertain any other reason why his own mind would be sealed inside the Lunar Notebook, which itself was an extension of his mind. Bernard just shrugged and went back to reading a rather large volume called I Don’t Regret Killing that Kikwi. Sirius scrunched his face at the title, he still didn’t regret it. “Read this.” Bernard tossed a book over to Sirius. “You have some weird future telling crap in here, jerkoff.” Bernard was always finding ways to bring his original sense of attitude back into things. “You might want to read up on those memories you tried to seal away from yourself. Daddy’s little girl just might be coming back soon.” Sirius snarled. “How can you know that? Those memories are not to be viewed.” He turned away. “I’m going to rip your soul out of this place and scatter it into the void the first chance I get.” “So be it.” Bernard muttered, flipping through the pages. Despite his anger, Sirius knew Bernard wasn’t saying anything that he hadn’t first read in a book, a book that was nothing more than representation of Sirius’ own locked and discarded memories. He dusted off the cover, greeted by a picture of the sun and moon sharing the sky, with a young girl standing on the edge of a cliff beneath them. It was titled She Can’t Be, But She Is. He grudgingly began to read, swiftly brought back to his own past, when his daughter Severa had first become a part of his life. 23 Years Ago “Sirius, please come in here.” Vera Fulmaren, long time wife of Sirius Fulmaren, called to him from their bedroom. She had been holed within it for many hours, refusing to see him, her voice and behavior uncharastically unsettled. It was the first time in 700 years that she had sounded like a normal person. 716 years to be exact. The unnatural long life was a dark gift, or dark curse, granted to them by the witch Rhunerys Telaris. For Sirius and Vera, it had been centuries in their past, at age 20 when the immortality had been granted. But for the world, the event had actually occurred in the far future, in the year AD-2000, almost 800 years in the future from the time they now lived in. “So you’re finally ready to talk?” Sirius asked, agitated, but still concerned. Long life had not diminished the love he had for Vera, a love he had been told by Rhunerys would not last. That cursed witch always had been spiteful to their relationship, insisting it would break in its greatest moment of need. Well she was wrong, it hadn’t broken, and as far as Sirius was concerned, never would. “I’m pregnant.” Vera’s words rattled Sirius to his core. It wasn’t possible. Rhunerys claimed that they were infertile, sterile. A byproduct of immortality. A protective measure. Had all of Sirius’ long years of toil really reversed the magic? Could he have overcome the witch? He smiled, as did Vera. It was shocking, it was impossible. But it was also perfect. 9 Months Later (AD-1177) The surprise pregnancy was but a brief flash in the lives of Sirius and Vera. It made them youthful, took off the centuries of callousness to the world, helped edge them closer to reality, and perhaps even empathy. It was on the night of Severa’s birth, while the two were away from the lab, on a trip to Holodrum, that they had their first encounter with Severa’s seemingly endless dance with death. She hadn’t even a name yet, but the world was already keen on wiping her from its face. She was the impossible child, never meant to be, and a product of severing defiance against the cold logic of the universe. Vera lay in the corner, swept up in the sheer calamity of childbirth, while Sirius watched on. Despite their ruthless push against magic and the holy with raw science, they had opted to leave it all behind when bringing Severa into the world, in a desperate bid to normalize her, keep her heart and soul from being born averse to the natural world. Vera hollered, and Sirius gripped her hand. And then he heard it. Knock. Knock. Knock. Sirius closed his eyes solemnly. He could not foretell the future, but from time to time in life, as a moment happened, he knew immediately what it was. Now was one such moment. He briskly walked to the door, and threw it open. Standing there was none other than the very first dark elemental wizard he had ever encountered, in his own youth. Davus Fulmen, the self described feared wizard of sparking thunder, stood in the doorway. He knew not the origin point of Fulmen, but the similarity of names had always caused a stark curiosity in Sirius, it whispered intangible thoughts of his own obscured birth, could the two be somehow related? “You have a lot of daring to come into this home. None will fear you on this evening, Davus!” Sirius wasted no time and gripped the man in a headlock, stamping a hand into his chest, fusing a metal plate to it. The plate twisted and locked into place, causing Davus to roar in pain and anger, and releasing sparks of lightning in all directions. “Sirius, get him out of here!” Vera, incredibly, had the strength to yell despite the exhaustive labors of childbirth. “Protect Severa!” The name was a surprise to Sirius. They had not yet settled upon one, but it appeared that fate had delivered her name exactly when it was needed. Sirius complied and forced Davus out of the house. But as Sirius dragged him out, he realized that somehow, his minute old infant baby child, had already opened her eyes. And those eyes stared upon them both, in a way that was truly terrifying to see in a child. Sirius felt a deep dread in his stomach. It was akin to seeing a demon nested within his own daughter, a demon that knew his name. “Who...who are you, really?” Sirius shouted, slamming the door behind him, and throwing Davus to the ground. Thick crimson blood oozed from Davus, but he showed no weakness, instead an insidious dark aura surrounded his body. “There are some dark creatures older than us all. Some fight them, some die to them, and some serve as the bridge between those creatures realms, and those realms our feet stand upon now.” Davus began laughing and a twisted blue portal opened behind him. “I am the bridge to which darkness crosses, arriving in the world of light, the world of your kind, Sirius.” He coughed up a thick splatter of blood. “Your daughter is already tainted with the darkness I carry. You and your wife may be resistant, but I’m afraid such cannot be said of little Severa.” Davus began to back away, lightning bolts striking all around to keep Sirius back. “Run while you can Davus, you are just another face on a long list of men and women that are to one day die by my hand, so that I may raise them a thousand more times and see them do my bidding.” Sirius smirked as the thunder mage faded into the forest, hearing Davus’ deep throated laugh echoing back to the small wooden house Sirius stood in front of. “She will fall, Sirius, you shall see.” ~The Present: Back in the Library~ Sirius looked up from story of his daughter's life, his fists shaking in anger. He had not wanted to look at these memories again so soon. Severa was gone forever. To be sat down to read about her birth was just adding to the pain. For a moment he suspected his wife Vera was responsible, trying to remind him of it all, as she had always held him in contempt for wiping the memories away from his own mind. "You will have to read the rest eventually." Bernard said, never looking up as he spoke. Sirius just grimaced. He knew Bernard was right. ~Library of Lunar Solace, The Seventh Day~ Sirius “I’m not going to read it all.” Sirius muttered. He tried to focus hard, wake his body up, rise from the tomb he shared snow with Bernard. But as he spoke the words, tried to concentrate, he found himself turning to the next chapter. “It’s not your choice anymore.” Bernard said, sounding immensely depressed. “It’s not mine either. We’re both just doing our parts, because we have to.” Sirius said nothing. He continued reading the story of his daughter. Part 2: Don’t Fall, Little Girl (AD-1185) Severa, 8 years old, strolled casually through the corridors of her father’s laboratory. She had already learned how to use all the rune panels, create potions in his alchemy station, watch the clone making machines, and how to get outside into Snowpeak. She was a curious young child. Today she found herself walking into a very deep part of the lab. A spiral staircase and some determination had brought her so far down, that she started to feel warm, like it was no longer winter outside. “Daddy’s machine, please tell me where I am.” She called to the voice system Sirius employed in his lab, but there was no response. She stamped her feet. “I said tell me!” Temper tantrums had always worked for her before, as her father had taken it upon himself to rig the entire system to respond more quickly to heightened emotional states. She scowled and pushed through the lone door at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes went wide. Fire everywhere. Little people in robes rushing around. A temple of sorts that seemed to be wedged into the fiery shores. She didn’t dare leave the doorway, but could not look away from the fires. “Severa!” Her mother snatched her up and pulled her back inside, the door slamming. “You are not to wander off on your own, ever!” “But-!” Vera slapped her daughter. “You do not disobey your mother. You do exactly as your mother says, you are to never come back here. Subrosia is dangerous for little girls.” “I don’t care!” Severa cried back, with her trademark rebellious attitude. Vera’s eyes narrowed in contempt. She set her daughter down and pushed her outside, slamming the door behind her. Severa immediately began to panic, with the blistering heat terrifying her. She heard a dark laughter above her, and began to cry. It belonged to no face, there was no one on the ledge but her. “Don’t fall little girl.” It said. She pounded on the door, and Vera opened it, letting her back inside. “Are you going to listen to your mother now?” Vera asked, condescendingly enough for even a child to recognize. “Yes, mother.” Severa kept her head down, wiping away the tears, but unable to wipe her imagination of the dark laughing voice. ~Library of Lunar Solace, The Present Day~ Sirius “Bernard, how is some of this even possible?” Sirius asked, looking up from the book. “These memories seem to belong to Severa herself.” “She left them for you, so that you would know the truth one day. I don’t think she expected a dead Zora spirit to be the one showing you this book, but life’s full of surprises.” Sirius said nothing in response to Bernard’s snark, and continued reading. Part 3: The Minstrel’s Secret Shadow 3 Years Before the RP (AD-1197) “Severa, what have I told you about this ridiculous obsession of yours?” Vera snatched up drawings in Severa’s room, drawings of a red haired minstrel, playing her music in all manner of places. They depicted the girl travelling with no parents, no boss, no expectations of perfection put upon her by others. To Severa that’s what they depicted, to Vera they were nothing more than disrespectful drawings of a young woman with no sense of safety for her own well being. “Beth is not ridiculous, she’s more than you could be!” Severa’s reply brought a slap to her face. Vera, while capability of incredible warmth, had grown quite accustomed to providing physical strikes to remind her daughter who set the rules. “Beth is a silly myth perpetuated by other little bitches like you, who would rather daydream about fairy tale freedom than learning about the real world.” Severa boiled with rage at her mother’s words. “No!” Severa rose up and punched her mother square in the jaw, knocking the shocked woman onto the floor. She went to stand, and Severa’s eyes went jet black. Her pitch dropped, and a seething, hateful echo emitted from each word. “The fury of the sun and the watchful eye of the moon have no power over their own daughter. She will fall, and they too will fall with her, in time.” She lifted her mother, and hurled her against the wall. Angrily, she raced out of the house, bowling through her father Sirius, who was caught as off guard as Vera had been. Before either could rise up and stop her, Severa had somehow already exited the lab, and was taking off to lands unknown. Sirius snarled and left in a hurry, barely checking on Vera before doing so. ' ' ''' '''Several Hours Later Severa was fast. In fact she was fairly certain her father had given her some kind of augmentation, something in the food perhaps. It had been that way all her life, but recently she felt more powerful than ever before, and with that power came the desire to escape. She had managed to run all the way to Death Mountain from snowpeak. She knew that seemed unrealistic, it was a mountain range leading into a mountain range, and she was a barely experienced traveler coming off of an emotional episode with her parents. It seemed unbelievable. And now that she had made it to the outskirts Goron City, she felt something most peculiar...she was here! For the last year she had tried to find Beth, but the handful of other times she had escaped the lab, she’d never seen her person, but always somehow found a person or two who had. As dusk fell upon the city square, Severa observed the myriad of people’s around her. She hadn’t seen this many in person before. The colors, shapes, and sizes were more diverse than she would have ever expected to see in one place. But it was the band that was most impressive. There was a Hylian on flute and violin, a Goron drummer, a Zora specialist in percussion and fishbone guitar, and a Mogma with a tall, stand-up bass. Nearly all the tiers of the city were full, with a standing room section in the round where her group was to perform. And then, there she was, the woman Severa had come to see. Elizabeth, clad in her classic short red and gold skirt and minstrel's top of white and gold, she greeted her fans heartily. "Good evening, Midsummer lovers! I want to thank all of you for inviting us here. For those of you who haven't seen me before, I am Elizabeth Bryce, and we intend on evoking your deepest enthusiasm tonight. For those of you who follow me closely, everything done with passion is worth doing. And this is my home! I do have a place in Eldin, after all. That's not far from here...thank you for welcoming me home. Don't hold anything back." Signaling to her band and strumming her lute in an unarranged manner, she led into her first song. The turnout was massive. Severa felt inspired by Beth’s courage against such a crowd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkYfxj3zIJ4 The way the crowd took to this song was incredible. Though it wasn't the Goron style to go with something this melodic, it got the Patriarch moving, and the Gorons present were inspired in turn. Among other songs played that night, she did like to use titles that started slower and had build-up to them. With the cool of twilight drafting through the tunnels, moods were at their highest. She would stop to speak, almost giving sermonettes while her band took breaks. It was in these that Beth promoted a positive message of following dreams. "Never let a dream turn into a dream. These visions in your minds, what you've always wanted. That power lies in your heart. Don't let anyone tell you something is impossible. I always wanted to play music for a living, and so many folks wanted to talk me out of it! But in that music is my dream turning to real. And my dream is to bring people together. Of all races and backgrounds. Not just for music, but to live a better life!" Severa lost herself in the music, dancing such that she drew great attention from the crowd. They did not seem to be looking at her oddly, but they backed away, giving her greater room, and in her mind, possibly increasing the chances of Elizabeth seeing her. And it continued that way until at last the concert was drawing to a close. Severa waited for much of the crowd to head home. It was now mostly just lingering Gorons that lived in the city, and the band was packing up, preparing to move on to their next event. Severa, confident that now was the time, walked up to Elizabeth. “Lady Bryce.” She said softly, feeling moderately nervous. “My name is Severa Fulmaren. I’ve been trying to see your shows for some time now. My father and mother have forbidden it, they see you as a bad influence.” Severa tried to smile through her tepidness. “But I’ve never been so moved in my life!” She blurted out. “You seem to be made to inspire others with your words. It’s as if you have some kind of special power, more than just talent, like a destiny!” She was coming across as a raving fan now, but she didn’t care. "It is always a rewarding experience to meet such a dedicated fan.” Elizabeth replied warmly, and her cadence soothed Severa’s anxiousness. "Don’t let your parents bring you down Severa. Never stop living live to the fullest.” Severa smiled. “I’m afraid I may not have much time before I should return home. If my father finds me here, he will double down on security, I might never get out again. I just...would you be willing to tell me of your other travels?” The question seemed odd, out of place, they were strangers after all. “I yearn to just experience what you have seen, if only by proxy.” Beth smiled in return and nodded. The kindness of her soul was readily apparent. Severa went on to listen to her accounts of her travels, and the two made some smalltalk as well, finding more than a few common bonds in the world. It was a truly gratifying, fulfilling experience, one that Severa could never forget. Eventually it had to end, with the two parting ways so that Beth might rest, and Severa could return home and avoid making things even worse for herself. She vowed to escape again when she could, and perhaps this time she would even find a way to not just find Beth, but travel with her. ~Library of Lunar Solace, The Present Day~ Sirius Bernard rose from his spot in the library, and motioned for Sirius’ attention. “Sirius, I must apologize.” Sirius looked at him with great curiosity. Bernard had become more and more robotic and lifeless, with only the occasional glimmer of sarcasm. His somewhat arbitrary moments of soulfulness were as surprising as they were detestable. “For what?” “Perhaps it’s best you finish reading first.” Sirius rolled his eyes and returned to the pages upon the table, his attention now fully consumed by the story of his daughter, a story that until now he had only known pieces of. Part 4: The Fall 1 Year Before the RP (AD-1199) “Dozens of times.” Sirius paced around Severa’s room.”How many times now you have now burst from this place. You’ve broken every single memory dampener, and I’m starting to think you’re immune to every damn thing I’ve made in this place. I should have never taught you how to use the controls.” “I would have learned anyway, Father.” Severa smiled with a sweet darkness that Sirius found endearing, but also terrifying. “But...I’m confused, you said only four times.” Sirius tensed up. She was planning something. He checked, windows were boarded, door was locked, and he had removed any kind of weapon possible from the room. But then Severa broke into a smile. “Just kidding daddy!” She ran over and hugged him. But when he released her, she was angrily staring, her eyes jet black. “Sorry father, I lied.” She grabbed his lunar notebook and flipped it open to the middle, and began to forcefully tear pages from it. Sirius gripped his head in pain, and tried to stop her, but was dropped to his knees from the radiating migraine and searing fire in his eyes. “I am joining the cult of Beth, and you are not stopping me! Now open the door!” Sirius nodded. “Severa, the reason I locked you up, agh...” Sirius gripped his head as she tore out more pages. “Is because the last time you attempted to find and join this cult, you nearly ended up dead at the hands of those that would exploit your naivete!” “Who’s naive, father?” She kicked him, the devil’s fury in her taking over. “Certainly not your brilliant daughter! Certainly not the one you said ‘has so much promise’!” The door opened, and in it stood her mother Vera. The relationship between the two had always been that of strained subservience, but with each escape attempt, it had grown more volatile. It now represented less of a familial relationship, and more that of bitter war rivals. She rushed her mother, and knocked her to the ground. “Bitch.” She spit upon Vera and tore off down the hallways. She made it through several rooms, and the stopped in one where Sirius kept great weapons he had collected. Upon the wall sat a flaming sword, and on the table several keepsakes of her mother. An eternal gasha sapling, a seed satchel with bottomless bags, and a pair of beautiful battle gauntlets. She took all of the equipment, and brought the sword down from the wall. With the gauntlets on, it felt incredibly light and easy to wield. She turned, hearing the sound of racing footsteps. Severa then interacted with the magical rune panel of the room, and the way she’d came in slammed shut, the stone doors thunderous echoes filling her with delight. A strange electrical sound followed, indicating that the magical security systems had activated a second layer of protection over the door. She ran into the next room of ancient artifacts, armor underweave, boots, and a belt. All would be necessary for her journey. A life of solitude and travel awaited her. She saw one final shining, beautiful object. A small metal device designed for crushing a very specific type of stone. She stashed it away in her bag, and activated the rune panel. The walls slid apart, revealing the great snowy landscape of the northern Snowpeak Mountains. She ran out onto the ledge, and straight into the bodies of her parents. “How...?!” Severa cried, swinging the sword at them. They yelled in shock, and both ducked, and all three took several steps to the side, rotating their positions, putting Severa’s back to the ledge’s edge, with her parents now standing just inside the lab. “It doesn’t matter, you can’t stop me!” Her armor showed off its trademark chameleon powers, changing color to a snowy white nearly impossible to see against the backdrop of the mountains. “I made this father, using your henchmen. I guess it’s easier to sway them than you thought.” She spoke to her father, but maintained eye contact with her mother Vera, winking at the completion of her sentence. “I will-” Severa paused as rocky ledge beneath her feet began to shake, and a small piece of the ledge crumbled and fell away. “Severa, please, come back inside!” Both her parents shouted in unison. Severa stumbled around, feigning a much greater loss of control than she actually experienced. “I-” She stopped again as the ledge crumbled more, and she stepped her left foot just a little too far back, slipping on the ice. “Daddy! Mommy!” Her armor began to cycle through colors rapidly, but settled again on ice white as she fell backwards, slipping off the edge in what felt like slow motion. Sirius and Vera reached for her, but it was too late, Severa was already tumbling into the abyss, the blizzard air swallowing her silhouette after mere moments. *** Both paused, in shock. She seemed gone. Though their power was great, control the elements they could not do that day, and a subsequent search for Severa turned up nothing. They feared she had perished against the ice, her body now lying deep beneath the snow. Finding her after she fell should have been easy. But the fall was hundreds of feet, enough that a talented girl like herself could never have survived. Sirius believed that with all his heart, unable to accept that perhaps, just perhaps, his little girl had abandoned him and pulled her greatest trick of all time. The sheer shock of it drove Vera to abandon Sirius, to go exploring for her daughter on her own terms, leaving the starstruck man to tinker away in lab, swallowing himself into a world of denial. ~Library of Lunar Solace, The Present Day~ Sirius Sirius felt nothing. He couldn’t bear to allow feelings anymore. By now, it couldn’t have been clearer that Severa had fooled him. Fallen to her death? He never really believed it anyway, but finding her that night would have been impossible. She had outwitted himself and his wife countless times, overpowered them, and made them look like fools. For one so young, she was dark, cunning, and at times terrifying. “As you probably know, reading further will reveal a truth you already suspected. Your daughter didn’t die that night.” “Shut up Bernard.” Sirius said half-heartedly. He sighed heavily and turned the pages. A great deal of time in his daughter’s life was not present. She skipped 1 year forward, revealing neither how she survived, where she went during that time, or what she did. But it was obvious what the end result was. She found her fantasy cult after all. Part 5: Wake Up! ~Library of Lunar Solace, The Present Day~ Sirius Sirius was at the final part of the story left by his daughter. The dates written down were impossible, she had somehow managed to add information to his notebook without him knowing, when could she have done that? The question bothered him, it meant that sometime when he was in the Laboratory, she had gotten inside and tampered with his notebook. How could Bernard not have warned him? The Zora said nothing, but had a knowing look in his eyes. “Bernard. Bernard how could Severa have put information about herself in this book that occurred after she left? When did she come into the Laboratory? I was only in there barely over a day. Surely she didn’t happen to be around just right then. Bernard, how did this happen?” “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, Sirius.” Bernard’s words infuriated him, but they struck a strange cord with him. It felt, to put it simply, right. He hated what he was hearing, but felt that it was supposed to be heard. All Sirius was supposed to be doing was reading about Severa, no matter how impossible it was for the information to actually be in front of him. 4 Days Ago (AD-1200, Day 3 of Epoch) Severa Brycaren 6 Months of living her fantasy, and never for a second had it faded from the glory she dreamed. 6 months since she fell from her parent’s home, faking her death in the mountains and escaping in secret. 6 Months since Beth had transcended from role of mentor, to role of leader, and perhaps even friend. Severa fell in with the crowd around her as they became riled up, feeling the pure energy and raw power emanating. She watched Beth’s sermon with burning intent. "So this brings me to why we are assembled here today in the presence of our Dark Father. We are not meditating on our recitations, revelations, or prophecies. Those will come to pass in their own time, and soon. I have seen things that cannot be denied, as I've said before. But there is a kingdom just waiting to be subjugated as they have done to all others for centuries." A few unwise individuals began to start making clamor of her race. Others quickly subjugated those who dared to question her. Severa was among them, ensuring that any who might question Beth would see within seconds the folly of their ways. "Is it not evident that I forfeited my citizenship upon my affirmation of faith? And is that not the same for those of my race here? Let us not be distracted by this. I was never truly Hylian..." Stepping away from the altar and sweeping her hair from behind her shoulders to her front, Elizabeth whispered unintelligible words of blasphemous origin, and then pale green light erupted from her shoulders that appeared to be shaped like wings. Energies wisped from them as they stayed risen above her shoulder and came to roughly twelve feet in diameter. Murmurs of confusion became shouts of adoration. Severa’s smile widened as far as it could go. It was a smirk true to her new personality. Though it triggered faint thoughts of her father, she was as far from that family as she could ever be. The name Fulmaren, once the only other name she had, was cast aside in favor of a homage to Beth. Severa Brycaren was her new name, a symbol of her dedication and belief in the Minstrel and her destiny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPhBmH3-a6s "Only a quarter of me ever really was. I am not of this plane! And we are above the laws set before us. Remember what we have learned, both old and new Crimsonites! The only laws that apply to us outside the sanctuary are loyalty to one another and that we only submit to the authority of our master, Sourbeneton!" Shouts turned into outright roars of praise. The people were smart enough not to repeat Elizabeth in the manner she spoke, but reminders had to be reinforced. "Yes, I said his name. No, you probably still shouldn't. All hope must be extinguished for the Hylians. There is much animosity toward them, and many of us here have distaste for them for our own reasons. We are not forming a nation here. We are fellow believers of many creeds, worldviews, and races. Some of us would kill one another without a thought outside these walls. What I propose is a change to what we're all used to hearing. You've trusted me this long; so humor me." She paced about the altar as the crowd was still quite emotional, but noise started to die down after about twenty seconds of silence. "Raise your hands if you're sick of it!” Severa raised her hands, never taking her eyes off of Beth. She would never waiver, never abandon her cause. ~Library of Lunar Solace, The Present Day~ Sirius “What does...” Sirius fell to his knees. It was one thing to believe she was part of that damned cult. He hadn’t even believed it real, always thinking it was an elaborate lie by this Elizabeth, perpetuated to increase the fear of her. Severa was there now, a part of it. “Sirius.” Bernard’s words rang throughout his body. “The time for sleeping is over. It is time for you to go. Wake up!” __FORCETOC__